


Tempted

by aeryncricton



Category: Nancy Drew (TV 2019)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:14:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29137662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeryncricton/pseuds/aeryncricton
Summary: Nancy is very very attracted to Ace.
Relationships: Ace/Nancy Drew
Comments: 14
Kudos: 70





	1. Just a kiss

**Author's Note:**

  * For [stormofsansas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stormofsansas/gifts).



Nancy knew that Ace was attractive. He had that floppy blond hair and cute smile, but his affable personality was disarming that she often forgot how muscular he was. It’s not that she hadn’t noticed, but she tried not to think of him that way. He was a friend. In her head, she had two categories of boys—her friends and fuck buddies. She wasn’t very good at the boyfriend think not since her not-mom died nearly two years ago. She had firmly placed Ace in the friends category and not in the other which meant she tried to put his disarming good looks out of her head. But, that didn’t mean she was blind and it didn’t mean she took to kindly to other people noticing.

The first time, it bothered her. A group of girls from her high school came into the claw. They were short a bus boy, so Ace was wiping down several tables behind them. 

“Oh my god, who is the hottie?”

“I don’t know but he certainly is yum.”

Nancy stared the group down and said, “Can I help you?”

The red-head shook her head and said, “Yeah, call him over?”

Nancy rolled her eyes.

“He’s busy, bussing the tables.”

The brunette placed her hands on her chin and sighed, “I wish he were our waiter.”

Nancy blinked with annoyance and found herself smacking the gum she was chewing. “Well, you’ll have to settle for me.”

“Is he like your boyfriend or something?”One of the girls asked. “You seem mad.”

“I’m not mad,”Nancy said firmly.

She took the order and slapped on the counter for the cook. Ace came in carrying dirty dishes and rags and placed them in the sink. Nancy snuck a quick peak at his behind and then quickly looked away.

“Stop checking out Ace’s ass and get back to work!”George hollared.

Ace turned around quickly. “What?”

“She’s imagining things. I was not checking out anything.”

George placed her hands on her hips and said, “Oh! Please I see you sneaking little looks at him. Not really my type. But, this is why I don’t like him out front. He’s a distraction.”

Ace pointed a finger at himself and said, “Are you talking about me or someone else? I think you have me mistaken for someone else?

George rolled her eyes. “Oh stop, with the false modesty.”

Ace shook his head and went back to washing the dishes. 

It’s not that Nancy didn’t know he was good looking, but she was just so protective of what they had and every-time sex got involved she managed to ruin it or they died. With her track record, she’d get hurt or hurt him and she was unwilling for either to happen. So, she preferred to admire him from afar. But, that didn’t stop her from being annoyed when others pointed out the obvious. But, sometimes, she couldn’t help but look at him. There was this one time when he was bringing in some boxes from the storage room and he only had a white tshirt on and those arms of his were flexing. She leaned against the counter and watched him as he placed the boxes down and started to put the new dishes in the dishwasher. 

“Psst, Nancy. This is a place of business and not a house of pleasure. Get to work!”

“Shh!”

“Oh please!”George said as she rolled her eyes. Ace turned around and wondered what the two of them were fighting about again.

“Come on! You two are always fighting.”

“We’re not fighting. I have a business to run and she is a lazy employee who is taking our friendship for granted.”

Ace pulled the two girls towards him. “Group hug.”

George looked uncomfortable while Nancy let out a small breath. He smelled good too.

“She’s right. I have to get back to work.”

Ace looked perplexed, “Did I do something wrong?”

“No, you were just you.”

*********

The tension was getting to her. Nancy was tired of pretending she didn’t find Ace attractive and his perpetual cluelessness made it worse. Nick and George watched the two play their little mating game with amusement. Well, more Nick than George.

“I’m tired of this. They just need to bang already so maybe things would get done around here.”

Nick looked at her with smirk. “You know then it will only make things worse.”

“It’s better than her wasting all her time mooning over him,”George said.

“We barely have customers. You know if they did something they’d just start randomly disappearing if you catch my drift.”

George punched him on the arm. Nick looked down at her with smirk and grabbed her hand and led her into their office. He locked the door and pushed her against the doorframe. He started kissing her neck and she immediately started purring like small kitten. “Stop. We’re at work.”

He let her go and said, “Okay.”

She reached for him and said, “Oh no you don’t” George pulled him into a kiss.

*****

Nancy was in the middle of changing her clothes when Ace walked in and immediately turned around. “I’m sorry, I didn’t, um...”

Nancy quickly put her tshirt on and walked over to Ace, “You can turn around now.”

He was so adorable when he would stammer that she found herself unconsciously licking her lips. 

Oh the hell with it

She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him closer to her, so that she could feel his breath on her. Nancy could feel his heart beating and said, “One kiss. I need to get this out of my system.”

“Just one?”he said with raised eyebrows.

“Oh shut up!”she said before kissing him. His hands found her waist and he pulled her even closer. Ace deepened the kiss and ran his finger tips under the hem of her tshirt. Before she knew it, he had her pinned against the lockers and she knew that one kiss would definitely not be enough.

TBC


	2. I could feel you sneaking in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nancy and Ace have trouble staying away from each other.

Nancy could not get her mind off that mind-blowing kiss in the locker room. She placed her fingertips on her lips as though she could still feel his kiss. It wasn’t just his response to her impulsive kiss, but the way his finger gripped her hips and the shiver he evoked when his palms touched her bare back. She looked at the locker that he had her pinned against just a few days earlier. She quickly changed into her uniform and clocked in.

She could feel his gaze on her as she picked up her first order. Nancy bit her lip and tried to focus on waiting on her customers. But, once the lunch rush was over, she had nothing to do. So, she sat at her usual spot near the kitchen and tapped her hand against the counter. He walked over to her, removed his hat and said, “Hey,” before placing it back on his head.

There was an extra huskiness to his greeting and she simply licked her lips. He watched her mouth and she knew exactly what he was thinking. Nancy gestured for him to follow her. Once they were in the locker room, he reached for her hips and pulled her to him. “I need more,”he said softly.

“Same,”she said and threw her arms around Ace. His lips kissed a trail along her neck and she closed her eyes and let the magic of his touch engulf her. She pulled off his hat and ran her fingers through his sandy hair. There bodies were moulded against each other, each taking as much as the other could give.

After a few minutes, they took a moment to catch their bearings. “That was...”Nancy trailed off.

“Amazing,” Ace said.

“Which means it can’t happen again!”Nancy insisted.

Ace picked up his hat and placed back on his head and asked, “why? I think we’re having a lot of fun doing this.”

“It would ruin everything,”Nancy insisted as she backed away from him. “I mean you’re great obviously. But, you’re my friend and it would mess up our whole group dynamic.”

Ace could see her eyes darting in a million directions. “So, you’re scared.”

“It’s not just that, but I’m not really good at this whole relationship thing.”

He shrugged, “neither am I. Maybe we just need the right person to want to be good at it with.”

Nancy looked at him strangely. “Do you like me?”

“Maybe.”

She shook her head. “Then this can definitely not happen again.”

“Okay,”he said.

Nancy was thrown by his response. He really wasn’t going to try and push her. She was used to the guys she fooled around with wanting more than she was willing to give. But, Ace seemed fine with letting her setting the pace. 

She reached out her hand and he shook it. “So, no more making out.”

“Deal,”he said.

********

It had been nearly a week since their ill-fated make out in the locker room. But, it was like everything went back to normal. They were friends who investigated the weird happenings of the town together. Carson asked Nancy to help her at the law office with tracking down certain leads and he thought it would be a good idea for Ace to help out with the more technical aspects of the job. So, they had somehow morphed into Carson’s very own girl-detective and hacker.

She found herself standing over him as he worked his technical magic on a case. He could feel her breath on the back of his neck and tried to ignore the feelings that it invoked inside her. Sometimes their hands would graze as they walked side by side. The tension was building and it was no longer something they could keep to themselves. One day, Bess asked her what was going?

“Are you mad at Ace?”

“What do you mean? We work together and he is a friend.”

Bess starting flailing her hands and said, “ I don’t know there is just this tension around the two of you. I can’t explain it.”

Nancy bent her head.

“Oh my God, you didn’t.”

“What?”

She wagged a finger at Nancy. “Something happened between the two of you? Did you kiss? More?”

“Define more?”Nancy said under her breath.

“Oh my god, you slept with ACE,”she said in abnormally high voice.

George and Nick came up to them and said, “When? When did this happen?”

“Stop! We didn’t sleep together.”

“But, something did happen? You owe me 20 bucks Nick,”George said.

Nancy looked at them incredulously and said, “You bet on us.”

“Oh come on, you’ve been crushing for awhile now,”George said.

“It’s not a crush. He’s just pretty.”

Ace came out from the back room and said, “I’m what?”

“She said you’re pretty Ace. Nancy thinks you’re pretty.”

Ace made a face. “Guys aren’t supposed to be pretty. Couldn’t you find a better words. I mean cute, handsome, dashing. But, pretty. No!”

They all laughed at him. Nancy grabbed him by the hand and said, “We need to talk.”

He tried to bend down and kiss her, but she pushed him away. “Oh , I thought that’s why you brought me here.”

“Not this time. What are we going to do about everyone speculating about us?

Ace shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged.

“So, it doesn’t bother you.”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”Nancy asked. She hated the idea that all of their friends were speculating about them. It made her feel weird and out of sorts.

“Because they know I like you and that you like me. But, you’re not ready. That’s okay though. I’ll wait as long as you need me too.”

Nancy tried to open her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He squeezed her shoulder and headed back into the kitchen leaving her completely out of sorts.


	3. Baby Steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nancy wants to know more about Ace

Don’t call me baby unless you mean it......

Nancy could not get Ace’s words out of her heads. The sheer confidence in his voice. The way he knew what he wanted and had no problem expressing it so simply. No pressure just patience. She wondered why he would bother? What was it about her that made him want to wait for her. The pressure of wasting his time was eating at her. Her gut reaction was just to push him away and ignore what he said, but that was simpler said than done. This was Ace and somehow in the last year, he had gotten underneath those walls that she had put up. She didn’t know when or how it happened, but it had.

Nancy had a terrible track record with relationships. She hadn’t had a boyfriend for longer than a few months even before her mom had passed away. Sex was not something serious for her, it was a way to pass time with a cute boy who caught her fancy. She’d always been more interested in investigating one crime after another. Her natural inquisitiveness never seemed to translate to the men in her life. Ever since, finding out she was Ryan Hudson’s daughter her life and been thrown into further flux. She had no idea who she was. So, she focused on the weird supernatural events that this town seemed to constantly attract. But, it wasn’t just her anymore, now she had her friends. But, Ace was different. He was more than that.

She found herself needing his presence even when they weren’t investigating. He made her laugh and she found herself seeking him out.

It was a few weeks after their conversation in the locker room of the CLAW, and she needed answers to the questions that were nagging at him. So, she went over to his house. His father answered and she had no idea how to communicate with him so she wrote something on a small pad and paper. He ushered her in and asked her to sit down. 

A few minutes later, Ace came down the stairs.

“Hey, Nancy, what are you doing here?”

She stood up and crossed her arms across her chest. “Why do you like me?”

“It’s nice to see you too. How was your day?”he said with his usual dead pan humor. Nancy tried to hide a grin.

“Because you’re interesting. I can never predict what you are going to do next. Like showing up at my house asking me weird questions. Well, that and you’re hot.”

“Really? You didn’t strike me as the superficial type?”

Ace laughed and said, “I’m still guy Nancy.”

“Why do you do that? Always crack a joke instead of just being serious.”

He shrugged. “It just makes life easier. It’s hard enough.”

Nancy sighed. “I feel like you know me, but I don’t really know you. Have I really been that selfish?”

“Not really. I just don’ t like to talk about myself,”Ace said matter-of-factly. He always felt a little out of sorts when people wanted to ask questions about him. It’s probably why it took him to have a real friend group. 

“So, start.”

He ushered her up to his room and she looked around at the little awards on the shelf and the books on jewish mysticism. “You’re really into your faith.”

“Not really, but I find some parts of it interesting,”Ace said. He picked up this one book. “My grandmother gave this to me on my Bart-mitzvah. But, I really just wanted money like the other boys got.”

He showed her around his room, picking up random items and talking about them and by the end of the afternoon, she felt like she knew him a little better. They sat on his bed and she pulled her to him and kissed him. They lay on their sides kissing until Ace stopped. “I think you should go.”

“What! What did I do?”

“I just don’t want to keep doing if you’re just gonna push me away. Our friendship means too much to me,”he said.

Nancy got up and readjusted her clothing and hugged him before she left.


	4. Ready or Not

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nancy experiences her first dramatic Shabbat Dinner. Also this is the final chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was debating going off on a tangent with this fic, but I’ve decided to save some heavier topics for a separate fic. Also, this is the last chapter of this particular story. Thanks everyone for all the feedback.

Ace pulled his phone out of his pocket and smiled before firing a quick reply back to the sender. He pushed his hair-which was getting a little too long-out of his face when his mother looked down at him with a sly smile. “Nancy again?”

His mouth dropped open and closed again. “How did you know?”

She smiled softly at him and said, “Because I know my son. Have you told her yet?”

Ace shuffled his feet. He hated talking about girls with his mother. It was always awkward. She still liked to think of him as her little boy. In her eyes, he was still the picture of innocence. 

“It’s not like that.”

She put her hands on her hips, “Francis Joseph don’t you dare lie to me.”

“Ma, can we talk about something else and do it later. I’ve gotta do something.”

His mother shook her head. “No! You are not running out on another Shabbat Dinner. Whoever it is can come here and you can go out after.”

Ace started to look around nervously, “I don’t know ma.”

She gives him a seering look and he finds himself immediately texting Nancy. 

Ace: I can’t go. My mother wants you guys to come to dinner.  
Nancy: Fine  
Ace: Bring reinforcements  
Nancy: Does George count  
Ace: I guess…

Ace watches as his mother sets the table and lights a few candles. “We’re going to need an extra setting for dinner.”

“Good, now go upstairs and get dressed.”

Ace looks down at his blue sweater and blue jeans and reluctantly drags himself upstairs and gets dressed. “Don’t forget to do something about that hair of yours.”

“I just got it cut, Ma!”he yells down.

“Not short enough,”she yells back. 

*****

The doorbell rang as Ace finished adjusting his tie. Nancy and George stood there dressed in their usual comfortable gear. His mother opened the door dressed up and they were a little thrown.

“I didn’t realize their was a dress code,”Nancy said. 

“Yeah, its a tradition during shabbat, but since you aren’t jewish I think its okay.”

Nancy looked him up and down. His hair was tidy and he wore a very nice suit. George elbowed her and said, “stop drooling. His mother is standing right there.”

“Yes, I am and I can here you.”She said as she reached out her hand. “Callie Hardy. But, you can call me Callie dear.”

“Nice to meet you Mrs. Hardy.”

“Francis are you just going to stand there on the steps all day. Please show your guests to the table.”

Nancy and George giggled, “Francis?”

“You mean he hasn’t told you his name? I thought you were friends of his.”

Ace interrupted them and said, “They just call me by my nickname.”

“Why? You have such a nice name. You’re named after your uncle.”

Ace rolled his eyes. “I don’t know what the big deal is. Dad doesn’t go by his real name either.”

“Atleast it’s his middle name. What is with this strange Ace business, dear?”

Nancy and George squeezed each others hands. It was like they were accumulating a years worth of ammo on their friend. They sat and watched quietly as his father blessed the bread. His mother poured the wine and passed around the soup.  
They all sat around awkwardly. “So, Nancy what are you kids up to now?”

“We need to hunt down a lead for my father.”

“So, is that why you needed my son to follow you on one of your wild goose chases,”Callie said between sips of wine.

Ace nearly choked on his bread. “Mom!”

“I’m just wondering when you’ll start focusing on something valuable instead of following her around like a puppy dog.

“This is getting way intense,”George said between bites. “Do you have a recipe for this soup.”

“I’ll give it to Francis to pass on to you.”

As the dinner wore on the tension and discomfort grew. Nancy reached for Ace’s hand under the table. He gladly took it and smiled softly at her. He had showed her so much support and for the first time, she was seeing how tense things were for him. 

“My son, he’s really bright and he should be in college, but for some reason he isn’t.”

Ace got up from the table and walked away. Nancy followed him to the porch. “You haven’t told them about the charges have you?”

“No, I just can’t bring myself to. It’s just easier to play the part of slacker loser son.”

“Well, they aren’t buying it. Maybe you should tell them.”

Ace turns and looks at her, with tears brimming in his eyes. He pulls her to him and holds her tight. They are interrupted by his mother. “Nancy, can I speak to my son for a minute.”

He takes a seat on the front porch and his mother joins him. “There is something going on with you, Francis.”

“I’m in trouble ma. I started looking into places I shouldn’t because I was looking for Uncle Frank.and well there are charges. That’s why I keep avoiding the subject of school.”

Callie Hardy reaches for her son's hand. “Why didn’t you tell me? Does your father know.”

“No, he doesn’t.”

“We’ll figure something out. I don’t really think college is for me, ma.”

His mother sighed, “You’re just so smart. Then find what it is you want to do so long as it doesn’t mean wasting your life away as a dishwasher.”

“I actually work for Nancy’s Dad now.”

“Doing what?”

“As a kind of detective. Nancy and I, we help him track down information for his cases.”

She squeezed his hand and said, “Well. That’s something. You know I like her. This Nancy girl. She’s good for you.”

Ace smiles and looks down on his lap. “Yeah, well she’s a good friend.”

“She’s in love with you, dear. I don’t know why the two of you don’t see it.

*******

Nancy found Ace still sitting on his front porch. He was staring at his hands and seemed deep in thought. She hated to see him so sad. It was obvious that he had a complicated yet loving relationship with his parents. She was beginning to see a different side to him and for the first time, she wanted to know more about someone. She sat down beside him and took his hand and held it. 

“I’m here,”she said as she laid her head on his shoulder. The two of them sat there looking at the night sky for a really long time. 

“You know I think sometimes I take your help for granted and I don’t mean to,” Nancy said.

“You’re not. I’m glad to help. It gives me purpose and its something I’ve really needed. I guess I just really like being around you.”

Nancy looked up at him and kissed him softly on the lips. Ace kissed her back and just as he started to pull away she pulled him closer. Nancy didn’t want this moment to end. “I’m ready,”she whispered.

“What?”

“You said, you’d wait until I was ready. Well, I’m ready. You’re like a mystery I want to solve, but more than that I know I can trust you and that’s no longer scary; not when it's you.”

He smiled and said, “No take backs.”

“No, take backs.”


End file.
